In many construction, repair, and refurnishing projects it is necessary or desirable to sand a given surface. For example, in the refinishing of furniture, the prior varnish, paint, stain, etc. must be sanded or abraded off such that the new finish can be applied. Similarly, in the preparation of interior walls, it is often necessary to sand plaster or joint compound to provide a smooth surface prior to application of primer and paint. The same is true with respect to exterior painting wherein siding needs to be scraped and often sanded prior to application of the desired stain or paint.
With many of these activities, it is possible to use a power tool to prepare the surface. For example, power washers using pressurized water or sand blasters using pneumatic power to impart sand particles against the surface at high speeds can to be used to remove the prior surface. However, it is often still desirable to perform such sanding operations by hand. This is particularly true with respect to smaller projects, hard to reach areas, oddly shaped surfaces, detail work, wood working, or wherein cost is at a premium.
Various tools are therefore currently known to conduct such sanding operations. With one commonly used tool, known as a sanding block, a sheet of sand paper is wrapped around a flat surface of block and secured thereto at its ends using various mechanisms. Commonly, such securement is accomplished through the use of a wing nut or other threaded mechanism imparting a force against a securing plate which secures the sand paper to the block. U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,501,192 and 1,544,368 are two examples of such blocks. In still further devices, the block is made of flexible material such as rubber with slits being provided at each of the first and second ends of the block. The resulting flaps formed at the first and second ends can be deformed such that the sheet of paper may be inserted into the slits with teeth being provided therein to grip the paper once inserted.
While effective, none of the currently known manual sanding blocks are of optimal design. With the aforementioned wing and nut configurations, considerable time is employed in changing out each sheet of paper in that the entire length of the threaded shaft upon which the wing nuts are secured must be traversed by the wing nut itself before the plate can be removed for removal of the paper itself. With the latter mentioned rubber block, the operation itself is relatively awkward in that considerable force must be applied to the end flaps to sufficiently deform the flaps and enable the sheet to be removed. Moreover, since such significant levels of force are required, the risk of injury is increased in that the prongs or teeth within the block can puncture or otherwise harm the fingers of the operator.